The Ex-Boyfriend Who Stole Christmas
by radpineapple
Summary: When Caitlin's ex-boyfriend vows to ruin Christmas it's up to her and a few friends from Star City to stop him. Snowbert and Christmas fluff included.
1. Part 1

**A/N:** **This is written as part of a Secret Santa activity the Snowbert forum did. My secret Santa person was Write-To-You. Write-To-You is a brilliant author, and I highly encourage reading her stories. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)**

 _Star City_

Felicity walked into the spacious central room of the loft, setting down a large duffel bag stuffed with clothes. Oliver turned around from cooking dinner on the stove to look at Felicity. His eyes crinkled in confusion.

"I thought you and Thea were staying at Central City for one night?"

"Oh, we are," Felicity said walking towards him. "I just thought that after last time we were there with Nazis from another dimension that you couldn't be too prepared."

Oliver smiled as she approached. "I guess you're right. They don't exactly do 'normal' in Central City, do they?"

"No, they don't," Felicity said before kissing him.

Someone coughed.

They both turned.

"Speedy!" Oliver greeted happily.

Thea walked into the loft with a travel bag slung over her shoulder. She paused as she saw Felicity's plump bag.

"I thought we were just staying one night."

"You are," Oliver answered. "Felicity just over packed."

Felicity playfully smacked his arm. "I'm _prepared_."

"Prepared for what?" Thea asked.

"Anything!" Felicity said. "Robots from space, evil plants, Cybermen, metahumans," Felicity listed. "You name it."

"Okay," Thea said, raising an eyebrow at Oliver.

Oliver chuckled. "Don't you two have a train to catch."

"Oh, that's right!" Felicity said. She walked over to her bag and struggled to lift it up.

"Do you need some help?" Oliver offered.

"No, I got it!" Felicity said, fumbling with the handles. She pulled hard and lifted it off the ground and struggled to put it over her shoulder. She finally managed and slowly walked over to Thea, stumbling with the weight of the overfilled bag.

"Felicity, honey," Oliver said.

"What?"

"Maybe you should take some stuff out."

"No it's –"

The bag flopped to the floor. She sighed in frustration and blew at a piece of hair that had fallen in front of her face.

"Fine," she conceded.

 _Central City_

"Shouldn't Felicity and Thea be here by now?" Barry asked, walking into the cortex.

Cisco looked at the time. "I texted Felicity five minutes ago. They're running a bit behind."

"Oh, okay," Barry said, exchanging a disappointed look with Cisco

"If you guys want to go the party," Caitlin said, walking out of the medical area. "I can meet Felicity and Thea at the train station."

"No, Caitlin. You don't have to," Barry protested.

Caitlin raised an eyebrow. "I know you two have been dying to go all day."

Cisco and Barry looked at each other eagerly before turning back to Caitlin.

"But we can't just –" Cisco started.

"Cisco, it's fine," Caitlin said with a reassuring smile.

Cisco's phone chimed. "That's Felicity. She said they should be here soon."

"Okay," Caitlin said, grabbing her purse. "I'll see you at the party." Caitlin walked past them.

"Hey, Caitlin," Barry called out.

She turned.

"Thanks."

She smiled. "No problem, Barry."

Caitlin headed out in the chilly December air, her breath becoming visible as the sun began to set. She could feel Killer Frost yearning to take control and enjoy the wintry weather "properly", as she had put it. Caitlin pushed her down and pulled out her keys. She unlocked her car and paused. She felt as if something was watching her. She quickly turned around, holding up a hand just in case she needed to summon Frost.

Nothing. The parking lot was empty. She scanned the area once more before getting into her car and driving to the train station. She drove through Central City and marveled at the decorations.

Twinkling, colored lights lined the trees and outlined each store window. Large trees of various colors stood proudly in the center of each open square decorated with shiny ornaments, as small, white snowflakes began to flutter down from above. Caitlin happily hummed along to the Christmas song on the radio as she pulled into the parking lot of the train station.

Caitlin smoothly parked and stepped out of her car. She paused as she felt someone watching her. Again. She looked around, but it was hard to see much because of the darkening sky. Caitlin closed her car door, locked it, and quickly walked inside the station.

She was greeted by warmth and bright, yellow light. She made her way through the crowded lobby towards the Star City train.

"Caitlin!"

Caitlin saw Felicity and Thea pushing their way through the newly arrived crowd towards her.

"Hey, Felicity," she said, giving the blonde a hug.

"Hi, Caitlin," Thea said, hugging her after Felicity had pulled away.

"I don't know about you guys," Felicity said. "But I'm ready to party!"

Thea and Caitlin both laughed.

"I can take you guys to your hotel," Caitlin said, leading them outside. "Then we can go party," she said, amusement twinkling in her eyes.

They reached Caitlin's car, and she unlocked it. The moved to the back and opened the trunk.

"Thanks for taking us," Thea said, placing her bag in the back of Caitlin's car.

"It is no problem," Caitlin replied.

Something whizzed past Thea and Caitlin. Felicity gasped and put a hand to her neck. She pulled out a yellow dart and stared at it in surprise.

"Felicity!" Thea said in alarm. Felicity began to fall. Thea and Caitlin rushed to her side and gently placed her on the ground.

Another whizzing noise, and a matching yellow dart lodged itself in Thea's neck. She winced and looked to see where it came from. Caitlin turned to look too, but something sharp bit into her neck. She quickly touched her neck and pulled out a dart. She shared a panicked look with Thea before everything went black.


	2. Part 2

Caitlin blinked and stiffly sat up. She was in a dark room with concrete floors and a wall lined with pipes. She groaned and blinked a few times.

"Caitlin!" a whisper.

Caitlin slowly turned, still groggy from whatever had been in that dart. Her left hand snagged behind her. She frowned. She was handcuffed to one of the pipes along the wall. She gently tugged on it.

"Hey, Caitlin!" the voice whispered again.

She slowly looked up, the drug's effects slowly wearing off.

"Felicity?"

"Yeah," Felicity answered, still whispering.

Caitlin saw Thea passed out behind Felicity. One of her hands were handcuffed as well.

"Why are you whispering?" Caitlin asked Felicity.

Felicity looked around warily for a moment before saying, "There was this creepy guy here." She paused, "Although he had a really impressive mustache."

"Well, I don't plan on meeting him," Caitlin said, raising a hand to freeze her handcuffs. "Let's get out of here." Caitlin summoned her powers and concentrated on the handcuffs, but nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" Felicity asked.

"My powers aren't working!"

A low, dark chuckle bounced off the concrete walls, "All according to plan."

Caitlin looked up sharply, and Felicity jumped.

"How long have you been standing there?" Felicity asked.

The man before them was dressed in all black. Black pants, black boots, black shirt, and a long black trench coat. He would have been menacing if it wasn't for his thick, curly mustache and poofy, brown hair that surrounded his head like a halo.

"Nigel?!" Caitlin asked in disbelief.

"Hello, Caitlin," he replied.

"Wait," Felicity said. "You know this guy?!"

Thea moaned beside Caitlin.

"Oh, good," Nigel said. "It looks like you're all awake."

Thea sat up dazedly. She blinked as she saw both Caitlin and Felicity handcuffed to the wall.

"What's happening?" she asked sleepily.

"Revenge is what's happening," Nigel supplied.

Thea slowly turned to look up at him. "Revenge? But I don't know you!"

"Ah," he said. "But Caitlin does."

Felicity and Thea looked at Caitlin for an explanation.

She sighed. "I dated Nigel in college."

Felicity eyed Nigel. "You dated _him_?"

"Yeah," Thea agreed. "He's not the most…charming guy."

Caitlin sighed. "I know."

"I'm still here!" Nigel said angrily.

"Oh, we know," Thea said smugly.

Nigel growled angrily. "Enough talk!" He walked over to Caitlin. "You can stop all of this."

"I can?"

"Yes, Caitlin, you can. All you have to do is say you love me too."

"Look, Nigel," Caitlin said. "You're a nice guy –"

Thea scoffed.

"– but I'm not in love with you. We broke up, remember?"

"I do," he said bitterly. "And I will never forget it."

"Well, that's not how to handle a breakup," Felicity stated.

Nigel glared. "Be quiet." He turned back to Caitlin. "Very well then. Everything that happens next is your fault."

The women exchange a worried look.

"Nigel," Caitlin spoke. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to make sure Central City has the worst Christmas ever just like I had when you dumped me."

"You dumped him on Christmas?" Thea asked in shock.

Caitlin winced.

"That was low," Felicity said. "Even for a guy like him."

"I know," Caitlin said. "But I had wanted to break up with him since Thanksgiving, but I didn't want to do it over the holidays. He set the Christmas tree on fire, and I just had enough."

"I said I was sorry about the tree!" Nigel defended.  
"It wasn't just the tree, Nigel," Caitlin said. "It was the snide remarks, using my homework and not doing yours, and never paying for anything."

"Well, no matter, Central City will still suffer for what you've done," he said angrily.

"Don't you think this is a bit extreme?" Thea asked.

"No," he said sharply. He stood up and pulled something out from one of the inside pockets in his black trench coat. It was a large remote. Nigel pulled a nub on the top and unsheathed a ridiculously long antennae.

Felicity cocked her head to the side and frowned. "Are you sure that's the most effec –"

"Silence!" Nigel said, pointing the remote as he yelled. He clicked a button with a melodic beep.

A quiet metallic clanging reverberated throughout the room.

 _Clang, clang, clang_.

"Uh," Felicity said. "What's that?"

Nigel smiled. It was supposed to be creepy, but it was extremely unflattering. He stretched his lips too far, and his mustache quivered.

 _Clang! Clang! Clang!_

"It's getting closer," Thea said.

The floor began to vibrate as the metallic clanging became louder and louder.

"Nigel," Caitlin said. "Whatever this is, you don't have to do it. This is between us."

"No, no, Caitlin. You see, I have to do this."

 _CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!_

Miniature robots began to fill the room. They marched in the room in an orderly fashion as if they were part of a militia. Each robot had pointed ears, curly shoes, and comical features.

"Did you seriously make an army of miniature Christmas elves?" Felicity asked.

Nigel smiled again. That creepy, unflattering smile. "An army of _killer_ miniature Christmas elves."

"Seriously," Thea said to Caitlin. "Why did you ever date this guy?"

"He wasn't a _psychopath_ when we dated," Caitlin said, glaring at Nigel. If only her powers were working.

He pressed another button on his remote, and the killer robotic elves began to file out of the room.

"Where are they going?" Felicity asked.

"Why, to take over the city, of course," Nigel replied.

"You won't get away with this," Caitlin said. "Team Flash will stop you."

Nigel laughed, an atrocious high-pitched squealing sound. "Team Flash." He laughed again. "They won't stand a chance."

"Oh, really?" Felicity challenged. "I hardly think a group of small robots will be a problem for the Flash."

"They will once they disable his powers," Nigel said.

They all exchanged a nervous look.

"What do you think was in that dart, Caitlin? How do you think I disabled your powers?"

Fear clutched Caitlin's chest. Her breathing becoming more labored.

"Oh, relax," Nigel said. "Your powers aren't gone forever. Just long enough for me to take over Central City."

The last of the elven robots had left the room.

"Toodles, ladies!" he sing-songed. "Next time I see you," he said. "The city will be mine." With that he left the women.

"Are things always this weird in Central City?" Thea asked.

"Well," Caitlin said. "Not really."

"Yes," Felicity confirmed, nodding vigorously at Thea. "Yes, they are."

"Well, this is just great," Thea said, struggling with her handcuff. She pulled a bobby pin out of her hair with her free hand and began pushing it into the lock, but it was no use. She sighed angrily. "I don't know what he did with these handcuffs, but I can't take them off!"

"I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," Caitlin reassured. "Everyone else should have noticed we're taking too long."

"But it could be too late by then!" Thea said impatiently tugging on her handcuff.

"Thea's right," Felicity said. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Please tell me your powers are working again," Thea said hopefully.

Caitlin closed her eyes and concentrated. She reached out to Killer Frost but there was no response. She opened her eyes and shook her head soberly.

The door to the room suddenly opened. The women tensed. A woman wearing tight black jeans and a leather jacket with long, curly brunette hair strode into the room. She looked around determinedly. Her eyes settled on the trio in surprise.

Caitlin furrowed her brow. She knew this woman. "Lisa Snart?"

Lisa looked at Caitlin in suspicion. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"It's me, Caitlin Snow. I work with the Flash."

She studied Caitlin half a moment before saying, "Oh, yes, you're the doctor, aren't you?"

"Yes, um," Caitlin paused. "Do you think you could help us?"

Lisa snorted. "And why would I do that?"

"Because you're a nice person?" Felicity said hopefully.

"Oh, honey," Lisa said, walking closer to them. "I'm anything but nice."

"Please," Caitlin said. "I could owe you a favor."

"I'll pass," Lisa said and headed towards the door.

"Wait!" Thea said.

Lisa paused.

"I know you don't know me, and you don't have any reason to help us, but it's really urgent," Thea said.

"I also have urgent business of my own," Lisa said, taking a step through the door.

"But's its Christmas time!" Felicity called.

Lisa stopped. She seemed to have an argument in her head before she approached them. "Fine." She knelt by Thea and easily unlocked the handcuffs.

"How did you…?" Thea asked, rubbing her hand.

Lisa moved to Felicity and shrugged. "I've been in my fair share of handcuffs."

"Wait," Felicity said as her handcuff clattered to the floor. "Handcuff handcuffs, or _handcuff_ handcuffs?"

Lisa smirked. "Both."

"Oh, uh," Felicity said. "That's good to know."

"You asked," Lisa said as the other women all stood.

"I tend to say things without thinking," Felicity explained. "Like right now. I don't know why I'm telling you this." Felicity paused, clearly flustered. She took a deep breath and reached out her hand, "Hi, I'm Felicity."

Lisa stared at her outstretched hand.

"Nope, okay," Felicity said, retracting her hand.

"Thank you, Lisa," Caitlin said as they all headed towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lisa asked. "You owe me a favor."

"Right now?" Caitlin asked.

"Yes, right now."

"Look," Thea interjected. "We're a little busy at the moment. Maybe come back later."

"I don't think so," Lisa said. She reached for her gun and pointed it at them, but Thea easily knocked the gun from her hands with a powerful kick. She used Lisa's surprise and easily pinned her against the wall.

"As I said," Thea said harshly. "Come back later."

Lisa stared her down.

Thea stared back and finally released her. She turned around and walked back to Felicity and Caitlin.

"Wait," Lisa said.

Thea turned, her hands balled up into fists, ready for round two.

"I want to help."

"You?" Caitlin asked in surprise. "Want to help us?"

"The sooner you finish your thing, the sooner I get my favor," Lisa said, picking up her gun and putting it in the holster. Lisa breezed past them as they looked at her in bewilderment. They exchanged a look before following her out the door.

"Where are we?" Thea asked as they looked out the door at the concrete tunnel outside.

"The subway system," Lisa supplied, climbing down a ladder. The others followed.

"I don't even want to know how Nigel got us in there," Felicity said as the all reached the ground. They walked along the wall of the subway tunnel, following Lisa as she led them out.

A slight breeze filled the air, and Lisa turned.

"A train's coming," she warned.

"How can you tell?" Felicity asked.

Before she could answer, the breeze turned into a rush of wind, and blinding headlights filled the tunnel. The women pressed themselves against the wall as the subway train flew past them.

"Oh," Felicity said. "That's how you can tell."

They resumed walking, and Caitlin caught up to Lisa, walking as closely behind her as she could.

"What were you doing down here anyway?" Caitlin asked her.

"Why do you care?" Lisa asked.

"If we're going to work together," Caitlin said. "We need to establish some trust."

"Trust?" Lisa said. "Like how my brother trusted the Flash?"

Caitlin winced.

"Wait, what happened to your brother?" Felicity asked innocently.

"He died," Lisa said flatly.

"How was that the Flash's fault?" Felicity asked.

"He decided to play the hero, and it got him killed," Lisa said. "He wasn't like that before he met the Flash."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Felicity said. "I didn't know…about your brother dying. I'm sure he was nice."

"Well," Caitlin started.

"I know what it's like to lose a brother," Thea said.

"Then you'd know I wouldn't like to talk about it," Lisa replied.

"You never answered my question," Caitlin said.

"What question?" Lisa asked.

"What were you doing down here?"

Warm fluorescent light filled the tunnel, and the soft murmur of voices could be heard overhead. Lisa led them to a ladder, leading up to the subway station itself. She turned to Caitlin. Her eyes flicked uncertainly above as she grabbed the ladder.

"It's the favor I need," she finally said. "I," she paused as if it was painful to say what she was about to say next. "I think my brother might be alive."

Caitlin opened her mouth in surprise. "Lisa, that's great! How do you know?"

"We had this secret code for communicating for when we were on the run. Lenny, Mick, and I were the only ones who knew about it. A few days ago, I got a message from Lenny through our secret code," she explained.

"We'd be more than happy to help," Caitlin said positively.

"Yeah…" Lisa said uncertainly.

"What's wrong?" Caitlin asked, noting her hesitance.

"You're afraid to hope," Thea answered. "You don't want to believe he's alive, because you couldn't bear the disappointment if he was still dead."

"We need to go," Lisa said, climbing up the ladder.

Caitlin, Felicity, and Thea all exchanged a worried glance before following Lisa up the ladder. They were bombarded with stuffy, warm air and rushing crowds. They pushed their way past the hoard of people waiting for the next subway to arrive. They gathered next to one of the maps near the stairs.

"So," Lisa began. "What are we doing?"

"To make a long story short," Caitlin explained. "My ex-boyfriend has an army of robotic evil elves hell-bent on ruining Christmas."

"Oh," Lisa said. "That's…"

"Totally something from a kiddy Christmas movie," Felicity finished. "Because that's what I thought. I mean, evil robot elves? Who does that?"

"I was going to say that's a problem for the Flash," Lisa stated.

"Oh," Felicity said.

"Somehow Nigel, my ex-boyfriend, created some sort of chemical to counteract the metahuman gene," Caitlin told them. "At least, that's what I could figure from the darts he used on us, so I don't think the Flash could be much help without his powers."

"So, it's up to us to stop your ex-boyfriend from destroying Christmas?" Lisa summarized.

Before Caitlin could reply, a loud boom echoed through the underground station. People screamed and ran in blind terror as part of the wall blew apart. Miniature robotic elves marched through the hole in the broken wall and began shooting at people with small guns attached to their left arms.

"We need to get everyone to safety!" Thea shouted over the chaos.

Caitlin nodded, and she and Thea pushed through the crowd. The made their way to a mother and her son trapped behind some rubble. Together, they pushed aside the chunks of concrete and broken, tiled wall.

"Thank you!" the mother managed before dragging her son towards the stairs.

A little girl stood under the crumbling wall, and Felicity saw the nearby supportive beam beginning to crack. She raced over to the little girl and picked her up right before the beam collapsed where the girl had been standing.

"You need to get out of here, okay?" Felicity instructed.

The terrified girl nodded and dashed to the stairs.

Thea saw an elderly man struggling to get away from a group of four of the robotic elves closing in on him. Thea picked up a broken pipe and charged towards them. She swung the pipe at the first elf, and sent it sailing away. She used that momentum to swirl around and knock down the other two elves that were standing side-by-side. The fourth robot trained its gun at the old man, but Thea hurled the pipe at its arm, skewing its aim at the last moment. She ran to the elder and escorted him to the stairs.

"Thea!" Felicity shouted in alarm.

Thea turned to see a robot aim at her and the old man. Before it could fire, it was suddenly turned into gold. Lisa gave Thea a nod before shooting at another group of elves chasing a plump businessman.

Caitlin watched the robots and desperately tried to summon her powers. She heard a click behind her and spun around to see three robots training their weapons at her. Caitlin was knocked to the ground just as they fired. Someone lay on top of her, and she saw the elves become golden statues before turning to her rescuer.

"Julian?!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"Caitlin!" he returned with equal surprise.

His blond hair was ruffled, but he was still dressed as if he had an important job interview to attend. His fancy attire just as Caitlin remembered.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, clearly shocked.

"I came to see you!"

"As cute as you two are," Lisa said, stepping past the golden elves. "We need to move."

"Oh, right," Julian said awkwardly, just realizing they were both still on the ground. He quickly stood up and offered Caitlin his hand. She took it, and he helped her stand.

The subway was in shambles. One of the walls was completely destroyed and most of the supportive beams were either cracked or completely reduced to rubble. Broken robotic elves lay scattered across the room along with clusters of golden ones frozen in various attack positions. Felicity and Thea walked over to them.

"We should probably get going," Thea suggested wisely.

"I agree," Felicity said. "The structural integrity of this place is not looking too good right now."

Julian nodded. "Let's get moving then."

The group quickly made their way to the stairs.

"I'm Felicity, by the way," Felicity said to Julian as they raced up the stairs.

"I'm Julian Albert."

"I would say it's nice to meet but under the circumstances, it's not," Felicity said.

Julian chuckled. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

"I'm Thea," Thea introduced.

Julian paused as he waited for Lisa.

"That's Lisa," Caitlin supplied.

Lisa gave Julian a toxic smile.

They finally made it to the top of the stairs and were greeted by the cold, night air. Snow heavily falling around them.

"I would like to say I'm surprised to see an army of killer robots," Julian said. "But, frankly, nothing surprises me anymore."

"Even if I told you they were built by her ex-boyfriend?" Lisa challenged, nodding at Caitlin.

Julian turned to Caitlin in surprise.

Caitlin held up a hand. "Look, it's a long story."

"Guys," Thea addressed. "I think we might have a problem."

They all turned to see Central City being pillaged by tiny robotic elves just like the gremlins terrorized that tiny town in the beloved Christmas movie. They broke into every store and stole whatever they could find. Buildings were set on fire and people were being chased down the street by the small, metallic terrors. The group stared.

"This is not good," Julian stated.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Felicity returned.

Julian gave her an exasperated look.

"But," Felicity continued. "I think I know how we can stop this."

"You do?" Lisa asked skeptically.

"I do! That remote Nigel had," Felicity saw Julian's puzzled look. "Caitlin's ex-boyfriend. Well, the remote he had was like a central unit controlling all of the robots."

"So, if we destroy the remote," Thea said. "We stop the robots?"

"Yes," Felicity confirmed.

"How do we find the remote?" Lisa asked.

"Easy," Felicity said. "Just get me to a computer, and I'll be able to locate it in ten seconds."


	3. Part 3

They all stood around Felicity as she turned on one of the computers in the public library.

"I thought you said this would take you ten seconds," Lisa said impatiently.

"I said I could locate him in ten seconds. I have to turn on the computer first. Which, seeing how old these things are, is going to take a while," Felicity explained. They all paused as the screen finally lit up. "Seriously, it should be a crime to have computers this old."

"I guess it won't hurt to sit down then," Julian said, sitting down at a table a few feet away.

Caitlin followed and sat down next to him. "Hey," she said, looking at her folded hands.

"Hey," he returned. He studied her face for a moment. "Caitlin," he said softly.

She finally met his gaze.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Caitlin blinked back unexpected tears. "What's wrong, Julian? Last time I saw you, you said you loved me, and I–" her voice broke.

Julian put his hands on hers. "Caitlin, it's alright."

"No, Julian," Caitlin said firmly. "It's not alright. What Killer Frost did," she paused, "what _I_ did, was wrong." She took in a deep breath and looked into his eyes with finality, "I love you too, Julian."

Julian placed a hand on her cheek and slowly pulled her closer, giving her time to back away if she wanted to. She didn't, and she impatiently tugged him closer, pulling on his shirt. Their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss.

"I was going to suggest sitting over there," Lisa said to Thea as they stood behind Felicity. "But it looks like those two are a bit busy."

Thea glanced at the table to see Julian and Caitlin kissing. "They do seem to need some…space," Thea agreed. She turned to Lisa, a more serious tone gracing her features, "What about your brother?"

"What _about_ my brother?" Lisa retorted harshly.

"I meant what I said earlier," Thea said. "About losing a brother."

"Your brother died too?"

"Not exactly."

Lisa waited for her to continue.

"He was in a boating accident. He disappeared for five years," Thea recounted. "I thought I'd never see him again."

Lisa looked down at the ground.

"I was so mad at him for dying," Thea said.

That caught Lisa's attention, and she looked back at Thea.

"He was supposed to be my older brother, you know? He should have been there for me. He just had to get on that stupid boat," Thea said, emotion lacing her voice.

"What did you do?" Lisa said. "When he came back."

"I was so happy at first," Thea went on. "But I soon realized we weren't the same people. He had changed. _I_ had changed. And I was still mad at him for leaving me."

Lisa angrily blinked back tears and stared at the wall.

"Until one day, I realized how much I had missed him. I just didn't want to be angry anymore. I just wanted my brother back. I don't know exactly how to describe it," Thea said. "I guess I forgave him, but I also forgave myself. I didn't want to lose my brother again." Thea wiped away a stray tear, "Sorry."

"No, it's okay," Lisa said, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. She paused and said softly, "Thank you."

"Got it!" Felicity shouted, jarring Lisa and Thea out of their thoughts and earning a few shushes from nearby readers.

Caitlin and Julian quickly appeared.

"It looks like he's at Central City College on Human Biology," Felicity informed.

"I should have guessed," Caitlin said. "That's where we went to college."

"What are we waiting for?" Lisa said.

"Let's go save Christmas," Thea said.

O

The gang walked down one of the many darkened hallways of the vacant college, their footsteps reverberating off the empty walls. Caitlin read each door and began to slow down before finally stopping in front of one that read "SIMULATION LAB". She peered through the glass, but all she could see were vacant rows of computers. It was too dark to make out anything else inside. She turned to the others.

"He should be here," Caitlin said.

"Are you sure?" Lisa questioned.

"I'm sure."

"Please tell me you have your powers back," Thea said.

Caitlin closed her eyes and once again called out to Frost. Nothing. She shook her head.

"Okay," Thea said. She turned so she was facing the group. "Lisa, you and I will go in first. Felicity, you shut down the remote, and you two," she said to Julian and Caitlin, "watch Felicity while she does her tech thing and make sure she's safe. Everyone got it?"

They all nodded or spoke words of affirmation.

Thea nodded to Lisa and wrenched open the door. The both stepped inside. A familiar clanging noise sounded to their left, and they both spun in that direction. Lisa blasted a group of the elven robots with a stream of gold, transforming them into statues.

Felicity, Julian, and Caitlin hurriedly crept in behind them, heading straight for the nearest row of computers.

More clanging signified the arrival of more evil robots, and Thea and Lisa rushed towards them. Lisa easily shot them down while Thea disarmed them with sweeping kicks and swirling punches.

Felicity sat down at one of the computers and smoothly turned it on. She began to rapidly type on the keyboard.

Lisa and Thea stood surrounded by mob of busted and golden robots.

"Huh," Lisa said, taking in the damage. "This hero business isn't too hard."

"It's normally not this easy…" Thea said with suspicion.

"…aaand done! No more evil robot elves terrorizing this city!" Felicity said, her typing ceasing. "This was probably the easiest thing I had to crack in my entire vigilante career. I mean, who creates a remote that will destroy the city but not set up _any_ protection around it? I wouldn't."

"Wait," Lisa said to Felicity. "You're a vigilante, too?"

"Oh, uh," Felicity began, but she was cut off by the lights flickering on and the sound of slow clapping filling up the room.

A familiar chuckle, and Nigel stepped out from the back.

"Were you there this whole time?!" Felicity asked in discomfort.

Nigel ignored her and walked towards Caitlin. "Well done. I knew you could stop me."

"It wasn't too hard," Felicity stated.

"Silence!" Nigel said, whipping out a gun from his belt.

Lisa pulled out hers and trained it on Nigel. "Drop it," she ordered.

He chuckled again. "Not so fast."

The ten foot speakers on either side of the front wall turned around to display intricate wiring and protective plating decorated to look like nutcrackers. Lisa turned to shoot at one, but she was too slow. One of the giant robotic nutcrackers knocked the gun from her hand and grabbed her tightly.

Thea turned to the one approaching her and charged. She leapt up to kick it in the chest, but a net sprung out from one of its eyes, causing her to tumble to the ground. The robot roughly grabbed her, trapping her like Lisa.

"As I was saying," Nigel continued, drawing his attention back to Caitlin. "I knew you'd stop me."

"What is this about, Nigel?" Caitlin asked in exasperation.

"This is about us, Caitlin."

"Nigel," she said firmly. "There is no 'us.'"

"Yes, there is!" he denied, cocking his weapon. "Don't you recognize this place?"

Caitlin blinked. "It's the sim lab," she stated in confusion.

"It's not just the sim lab! This is where we met, remember?" he asked, stepping closer to her. His gun never straying from her.

"Nigel, you need to calm down," Caitlin attempted.

"NO!" he took another step closer.

Out of nowhere, Julian rushed forward and grabbed Nigel's arm and pointed it upwards. Nigel fired, and the bullet hit the ceiling. Felicity yelped in surprise and took cover under her desk. With his free hand, Julian punched Nigel in the face. He staggered backwards, and Julian took this opportunity to pull the gun from Nigel's hand. He pointed the gun at Nigel. Nigel blinked and stared at Julian with rage.

"Don't even think about it," Julian warned.

Nigel glared at him silently.

"Release my friends," Julian commanded.

Nigel hesitated.

"Do it!" Julian instructed.

Nigel slowly turned to his robots. "Kill them."

Lisa swore and Thea writhed in an attempt to escape as both robots began to squeeze the women to death.

Ice blasted Nigel backwards, and Killer Frost stepped through the fog.

Nigel sat up in fear. "C-caitlin?"

"I'm afraid Caitlin isn't home right now," Frost answered. She raised a hand, fog steaming down and swirling around Nigel, who sat petrified on the ground. "Why don't you be a good boy," Frost said, stepping towards Nigel and crouching beside him so they were inches apart, "and let my friends go."

He swallowed.

"Now!" her icy cold eyes piercing into his dark green ones.

He looked back at his robots. "S-stop! I command you to stop!"

The robots stopped crushing Lisa and Thea and dropped them with a thud. They both groaned and gasped for breath.

Nigel looked back at Frost, "Please, don't hurt me."

She gave him a wicked grin before encasing her fist in ice and punching him squarely in the face.

O

Caitlin and Thea stood with their arms crossed as they enclosed Nigel in one of the many cells in STAR Labs.

"That should do for the holidays, don't you think?" Thea asked as the doors closed for Nigel's cell.

He glared at them angrily.

"I think it will do perfectly," Caitlin agreed.

O

"According to the message your brother gave you," Felicity said while quickly typing on one of computers at STAR Labs, "he should have appeared at the subway." She turned to Lisa, "I'm sorry."

Lisa blinked back tears. "It's fine. It was stupid to think he was still alive."

Julian and Felicity exchanged a worried look.

"I have an idea," Julian said, causing Lisa to look back up at him. "Why don't you come to the party?"

She looked at him in confusion.

"Some of the people who work at STAR Labs have an annual Christmas party at Joe West's house," Julian explained further.

Lisa bit her lip. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Sure it is!" Felicity encouraged. "We won't let you be alone on Christmas Eve."

Lisa studied them both for a moment. "You sure I won't make things awkward?"

"If you haven't noticed," Felicity started, "I'm pretty good at making things awkward anyway. I don't think you could make it worse."

Lisa smiled. "Well, then who am I to turn down a party?"


	4. Part 4

Barry smiled happily as he took another sip of hot chocolate while surveying the annual Christmas party at Joe's house. Everything seemed to be going well. Joe and Cecil were talking to Harry, who actually looked like he was happy to be there. Cisco and Gypsy were feeding each other cake like a true couple. Ralph yelled at Wally as Wally easily defeated him in their latest round of MarioKart.

"Hey."

Barry turned to see Iris walking towards him with a mug in hand. She had on a beautiful red dress with golden sparkles that shimmered in the light.

"Hey," he returned with a smile and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing her thoughtful stare.

"I just thought Caitlin and the others would be here by now."

Barry frowned. She was right. "Have you tried calling her?"

"No, I wanted to see what you thought first."

 _Ding! Dong!_

They both glanced at the door.

"Nothing to worry about," Barry reassured as they both walked over to the door. "That's probably them now." Barry opened the door and frowned.

"Uh, hi," the young man no older than Barry said. He had dark features and was wearing a red hoodie. "Are you Barry Allen?"

Iris and Barry exchanged a cautious look before Barry continued, "I am."

"I'm Roy Harper," he said, sticking out his hand.

Barry shook it. "I think Oliver's mentioned you."

Roy shook Iris' hand and said, "Is Thea Queen here?"

"No, actually," Barry answered. "We were just about to call a friend of ours to see where they were."

"Why don't you come in, Roy?" Iris invited.

"No, I don't want to impose," Roy said.

"We insist," Barry said, opening the door wider for Roy to enter.

Roy hesitated a moment before he finally stepped inside.

O

The subway was quiet. Water flowed through the pipes quietly and the electricity hummed softly. The damage done by Nigel's robots was already being repaired by the poor souls who had to work on Christmas Eve.

A few floors above, an office Christmas party was in full swing. A decently sized pine stood near the receptionist's desk, and Christmas themed goodies were smartly placed around the room while the office workers milled around; however, Dan hated it.

The annual party office was already terrible in his opinion. Just like it was every year. He didn't know why he was there in all honesty. It was probably for Julia. He kind of had a thing for her, but he knew she secretly liked Ron. Again, he didn't really know why he was here.

"Dan, Dan, the crazy man!" Steve said, his tie already loosened and his shoes missing. The party had only been going for an hour and Steve was already drunk.

"Hey, Steve," Dan said wearily.

"You helped set up that wacky tree there, right?" Steve said with a sloppy wave of the arm.

"Yes, I did," Dan clipped. He had worked very hard to decorate that tree. It took him way longer than he'd like to admit to finally get that thing up to this floor.

"Well, it looks pretty ok," Steve stated.

"'Pretty ok,' huh?" Dan said.

"Yup," Steve said. "You done good." And with that Steve walked over to the waiting area and plopped down on a chair where he would no doubt spend the rest of the party and maybe even the night.

Dan sighed and put his drink to his lips, but he was suddenly thrown backward with a flash of light and a wave of energy that surged through the room. Dan looked up just in time to see a strange portal open up right above the Christmas tree and a man come sailing through. He collided with the tree, and he and the tree both fell with a mighty crash. The portal disappeared and a strange silence filled the room.

The tree ruffled, and the portal man, now recognized as none other than Leonard Snart, scooted out from under it. He stood up and nobly brushed the pine needles off his clothes. He suddenly seemed to realize the presence of everyone else. He blinked and surveyed the room.

"Nice party," Leonard complimented. "Although the tinsel could use a little work." He regarded the plate of cookies on the receptionist's desk to his right. "Don't mind if I do," he said, picking one off the plate. Leonard walked to the door and turned to the stunned group and said, "Merry Christmas," then added before leaving, "Sorry about the tree."


	5. Part 5

"We're totally late to the party, aren't we?" Felicity said as the group stepped out of an Uber and walked up the stairs to Joe's house.

"After everything that just happened," Lisa said. " _That's_ what you're worried about?"

"Well, no one was at STAR Labs, so I'm assuming there's still a party," Felicity justified.

Lisa rolled her eyes but didn't reply.

"I have thirty-seven missed calls," Caitlin said worriedly.

"I'm sure everything's fine," Julian reassured as they reached the door. "Otherwise, we would have seen them at the labs, yeah?"

"I guess we'll find out," Thea said, ringing the doorbell.

"Thea!" Cisco exclaimed excitedly as he opened the door.

"Hey, Cisco!" she greeted, pulling him into a hug.

"Where were you guys?" he asked.

They all exchanged a look.

"Cisco," Caitlin said. "There were little robots terrorizing the city."

He looked between them all and laughed. "You got me!"

"She's telling the truth, Cisco," Julian confirmed.

"Julian? When did you get here?" Cisco asked.

"Tonight," Julian answered, "but that's not the point."

"Lisa?!" Cisco said, his eyes falling on the brunette.

"Hey, Cisco," she greeted. "Your friends said it was cool if I came, is that ok?"

"Um, yeah, uh," he opened the door wider. "Come on in." They all filed into Joe's house.

"Look who finally decided to show up," Joe said and everyone cheered at the group's arrival and rushed forward to greet them.

"Thea!"

"Roy?!" she bounded to him and he captured her in a tight embrace. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you woke up from your coma, and I just had to see you," he explained. She pulled him closer, and they held onto each other for a sweet moment before finally pulling apart.

"Uh, guys," Joe said, noticing Lisa. "What is _she_ doing here?"

"Who?" Felicity asked and then followed Joe's gaze. "Oh, Lisa? She helped us defeat an army of evil robot elves. The least we could do was invite her to the party."

Barry looked at Felicity completely baffled and then turned to Cisco.

"Dude," Cisco said. "I have no idea."

"Well," Barry addressed Lisa. "Whatever you did, thank you."

She shrugged. "It's Christmas. My brother always had a thing for being nice on Christmas. Might as well carry on the tradition."

"I don't know about you all," Julian said. "But I'm famished."

Everyone expressed some sort of agreement.

"Let's eat," Joe said, leading everyone to the kitchen as they all cheered.

O

Leonard stepped out of the last safe-house he had in Central City – the rest were in Keystone – but Lisa was nowhere to be found. He had tried all of their usual methods of communication, but he received nothing. He would never admit it, but he was beginning to panic. However, there was one more place he could try.

It was Christmas Eve, so Leonard knew Team Flash wasn't at STAR Labs, so he quickly made his way over to Joe West's house. The snow was whirling down in cold gusts, and it was becoming more difficult to see as the world was filled with the heavy, white snowfall.

Leonard finally made it to Joe's and harshly knocked on the door. It was becoming colder as the night went on, and his impatience and worry for Lisa was growing. He shoved his hands in his pockets, wondering why it was taking a speedster so long to answer the door. The door finally opened, and Leonard was bombarded with light and warmth from inside.

"Snart?!" came Barry's surprised greeting.

"Hello, Barry," he said coolly. "You wouldn't happen to know where my sister is, do you?"

Barry blinked. "It's you. Like, actually you. Not someone from another Earth."

Leonard scowled in annoyance. "What are you talking about?"

Before Leonard could react, Barry wrapped him in a hug.

Leonard tensed. "Barry…" he warned.

Barry stepped back and beamed. He opened the door wider for Leonard to enter.

"Barry!" Harry called from inside. "Make up your mind. You're either inside, or outside. Just close the door!"

Leonard raised an amused eyebrow at Barry's panicked expression but stepped inside. Barry closed the door and led him to the kitchen.

Joe was the first to notice Leonard's presence. "Is that…?" he began.

"Captain Cold," Cisco finished in disbelief.

"Lenny!" Lisa exclaimed excitedly. She rushed to her brother and threw her arms around him. He returned the gesture and held onto her tightly.

O

After everyone had eaten, the party began to wind down. Julian and Caitlin sat on the couch together. Caitlin smiled as she watched everyone part ways.

"Having a good Christmas Eve, I take it," Julian said, noting her smile.

She smiled deeper and faced him. "I sure am."

"I didn't ruin it by dropping in unannounced, did I?"

"What, Julian? Of course not," Caitlin reassured, leaning a head on his shoulder. She looked up to him, "If anything, you made it better."

Julian smiled as he gazed into her eyes and brushed a piece of hair from her face. "Just one question," he said.

"What's that?"

"Will I have to worry about any more psychotic ex-boyfriends?"

"Julian!" she reprimanded, but she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips.

"I was just wondering since this last one nearly ruined Christmas!" he defended playfully.

"I don't think you'll have anything to worry about," Caitlin assured while sitting up to properly face him. "Besides, I'll have my boyfriend to defend me."

"Boyfriend?" he asked dubiously. "Caitlin, are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she paused. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, most certainly!"

"Then there should be no problem in us doing this," Caitlin said, pulling him into kiss.

As they pulled apart, they stared into each other's eyes with something akin to the intensity of fire.

"I'm glad you're here," Caitlin finally stated.

"Me too," Julian agreed.

"Merry Christmas, Julian."

"Happy Christmas, Caitlin."

The End


End file.
